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Topic Review (Newest First)

10-11-2011 04:41 PM

ArcherBowman

Yup - you got it right. Here in East Tennessee, while the boat must be registered with TWRA, no license is required to operate one. Any idiot can buy a boat, throw it in the water, and get himself and his friends killed, as long as he doesn't charge money. To be a professional idiot DOES require certification.

In fairness, that just us OLD idiots. As of 1989:
"Anyone born after January 1, 1989 must show the TWRA-issued wallet Boating Safety Education Certificate as proof of successful completion of the TWRA Boating Safety exam. No other certificate will be accepted as meeting the requirements of the law."

They did it that way because Tennessee is FULL of duck hunters and fishermen who would have risen up en masse and run the politicians out of office had they been forced to get licenses to operate their boats.

WHAT??? You do not need aboat licence there? Here In OZ if it has a motor(even electric trawling) it must be registered and you must have a boat licence using a powerboat.

10-11-2011 02:36 PM

MarkSF

Was sailing in SF bay on Sunday, the last day of fleet week. At about 4pm all the power boats arrived at the Oakland estuary, heading for their marinas, en masse. Well, the VHF came alive with cursing. Not that it had been exactly quiet all day. Heard the word '*******" quite a few times. The wakes weren't such a problem for us, just made for a fun ride down the estuary. But for smaller boats they could have been dangerous - certainly they were inconsiderate.

10-10-2011 11:22 AM

lillia28

Bahr's

Last time I stopped for gas at Bahr's, I took a total of 4 gallons, I had to buy a couple of six packs and ice to get it to $25.00. I felt like I was taking up valuable fuel barge space, as the guys behind me were running up bills in the high hundreds! Still the best clam chowder on the river!
L

10-06-2011 01:59 PM

RonRelyea

sometimes there is justice

At our yacht club on the Hudson, we had only months before installed a video surveillance camera. Some members were at the sea wall pouring concrete for a bandstand when a large yacht blasted close by at high speed. The wake broke over the sea wall and did some damage to the still wet concrete. One of our members is a retired police officer, who got on the phone to the police crew about 10 miles north. They stopped the guy on the river and put him in a taxi back to our club. He pleaded "not guilty" until they showed him the video! At that point he apologized and broke out his wallet and paid for the damages. We were lucky!!

10-05-2011 09:13 PM

smurphny

A little anecdote on the wake issue: About 30 years ago, when I was digging clams for a living, there were three or four of us working the harbor when this
J a$$ comes into the harbor in a huge 50+' yacht at full tilt, right next to one of my buddies. Bob held frantically onto his gear and rake, barely avoiding being tossed in the water. Well, the next thing, I look up and see that Bob is coming up alongside this inconsiderate idiot, methodically throwing chowder clams through all his windows. He went round both sides and wasted perhaps a dozen perfectly good chowder clams. Of course, the yachtie, now panicked, was right on the horn to the harbor police who came on over and told the guy he probably shouldn't have thrown that big wake and probably should return from whence he came and that he could file a complaint later. Sometimes there is justice. Never heard from him again. You can see how commercial fishermen usually have a poor view of yachties because these kinds of things happen all the time.

What can be done about the dangerous wakes large boats on or near plaining speed are doing to us slowing moving vessels?
I operate my sailboat on the Intercoastal Waterway in SE Florida in confined waters and have experienced and hear on the VHF radio other boaters asking for a "Slow Pass". Most (9 out-of 10) will slow but others continue on like they don''t care what their wake does to you. Some have even laughed as they passed. I and my wife have been injured and little can be done even if you report it to the Water Police. What value is there in having laws that say "You are responsible for your wake" if no one can prove who did the damage? The police know of the problem but don''t do anything about it, even if they see it happen and in most cases they are no where around. If you file a report nothing is done about it except you get to keep someone in the government employed.
I usually don''t advocate taking the law into me own hands but the practice of "Waking" must be controlled. What laws are there for protecting yourself and property on the water?
Can anyone help?

Hi Jim. It took me a while to work out but damage to my bows was down to a small freighter leaving its dock just before high water to catch the tide out of the river each week. By the time it got to my mooring it was slack water and the wake caused excessive fore and aft rocking and the normally tight ropes to the mooring buoy became slack and the large somewhat rusty ring took it out on my gelcoat. Repair this a couple of times and you look for prevention rather than cure. Rigid sprung bow protector on ebay, same price as a gelcoat repair kit but you only do it once. I am now waiting with my camera to catch the evidence !

Here in Washington State, the Lobster boat operator would be liable for the damage to the boat and any injury to the crew. You would have had a couple of witnesses. Here the law is very clear on the matter. The problem is usually witnesses or documentation. Your local laws may be different.

The cameras in newer smartphones (like my iPhone) include location as well as date and time in the header field of the picture. Software to extract that information is readily available.

... I was planning on calling the Marine police when we tied up, but the grounding made me figure the Big Guy was on it! This was just before the Atlantic Highlands Bridge southbound on the Shrewsbury river in NJ. It had been a peaceful Sunday, and I guess I let my guard down!
Lou

That was just Neptune's way of reminding you to stop off at Bahr's or Moby's!

Well here is my "bummer" story. And it happened less that two weeks ago in Maine...in an anchorage... in an anchorage with "no wake" signs.

Here in Washington State, the Lobster boat operator would be liable for the damage to the boat and any injury to the crew. You would have had a couple of witnesses. Here the law is very clear on the matter. The problem is usually witnesses or documentation. Your local laws may be different.

Dave

09-27-2011 09:40 AM

Minnewaska

Mother nature certainly has a way of evening up the score. Have you ever watched a stink pot on a mooring with a 6 inch wake in the harbor?

A couple of weeks back, we were returning from Block Island. The forecast was for seas 1 to 3 ft. While I should have known better with 20 kt winds out of the East, actual seas were 6 to 8 ft. As we finally start heading into the Bay and calm waters, we are passed by several stink pots at full throttle heading toward open water. They must have no idea what they are in for and I just grin thinking about it. Wish I could have turned around to watch.

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